July 1914 in France

In July 1914, France was characterized by numerous contradictions: on one side the arms race and the Revanchism had pushed to grant ample funding for the armed forces, forming a well- armed and trained army. At the same time much of the intellectual élite, similarly to the Italian futurism, saw the war as a fascinating adventure and a positive experience for the nation. However, only few people wanted and expected the outbreak of the terrifying conflict that was the first world war

News of the assassination in Sarajevo arrived at a time when war was uppermost in the minds of the country's political and military leaders. In the interest of remaining competitive, the arms budget had been increased; in 1913 it accounted for 31% of all the State’s expenditure. In the same year a new law was passed on universal conscription, as compulsory military service was extended from 2 years to 3 years, and the age at which people could be called up was lowered from 21 to 20. As a result of this, by 1914 there were 637,635 soldiers (men aged between 21 and 23) in the peace-time army. A system of three sets of reservists, divided up into age categories and with a maximum age limit of 48, boosted the number of men who could be mobilised in the event of war to 3,780,000. Mobilisation was thus a carefully considered operation, planned well in advance, where everyone who played a part in society was allocated a role to play. The emphasis on military doctrine and strategy placed the emphasis on taking the attack to the enemy. On 19th June 1914 a loan of 800 million francs for the purchase of arms was also approved. The head of the French army, Joffre, thus regarded that the situation in France was better than it had been three years earlier.

The dominant themes of the debate were spread throughout society, with the help of the vast network of newspapers and the preponderance of popular literature, which put across national stereotypes. Morale was boosted by means of training in specific disciplines within the various institutions of the Third Republic. With the help of its methods of relaying power, the State was able to establish close-knit social cohesion, creating more homogeneity between parts of society than had existed in the past. The increasing amount of sport being played also helped to instil manly values and a sense of competition in the people. The war had an important place in the imagination of intellectuals, too. Numerous elites within society were won over by the nationalist agenda.

In the immediate term, however, the attack did not elicit much of a response. In an editorial that he wrote on 1st July, entitled 'En route vers l'inconnu' (Heading for the unknown), Clemenceau was still expressing his confidence in the idea that the crisis would be resolved peacefully, arguing that "Franz Joseph is a guarantor of peace."

The pace at which events were unfolding began to quicken in mid-July. Even as a grandiose military parade was taking place to celebrate the national holiday on the 14th, the senator Charles Humbert was revealing that the army's heavy artillery equipment was of mediocre quality. On 15th July the following proclamation was made: "as regards the proposal made by Clemenceau, the Senate hereby bestows special powers on the Army commission." On the same day, a new fiscal law established a tax on income, so that the resources available to the State could be increased. At the same time, during an extraordinary meeting of the SFIO (on 14-16 July), Jaurès ensured that the general strike was adopted as a method of saying no to war. Meanwhile, President Poincaré left for an official visit to St Petersburg, along with Viviani. France assured Russia that it would remain faithful to the alliance. During the journey, which had been planned and announced a long time in advance, Austria issued its ultimatum on Serbia. Returning from Russia by boat, the key French leaders were a long way from Paris and could not be contacted, and were thus no longer 'in play'.

The rejection of the ultimatum on 25th July triggered numerous responses, of various kinds. Though there were collective outpourings of nationalist exaltation in the capital and some of the larger cities, people in rural areas, who were busy collecting the harvest, hardly reacted at all to the political situation. On 25th July, at the Gare de Lyon-Vaise, Jaurès denounced the imperialist and capitalist thinking that went hand in hand with the possible outbreak of war, reminding the nation that "at a time when we are threatened with death", the only solution was for the proletariat to unite and for the socialist parties in Europe to remain firmly opposed to war. On the 27th, the Union of the Syndicates of the Seine called on the workers to go on strike. The opposition movement in France was weaker than the equivalent movements in Germany and Britain: it numbered 5,000 men in Brest, 10,000 in Montluçon and 20,000 in Lyons, and it organised several demonstrations, which had been forbidden. At the meeting of the International Socialist Bureau in Brussels (29-30 July), though they were still confident of the peaceful intent of their own governments, a significant shift began to take effect among the socialists: the enemy was no longer the bellicose ruling class in general but the ruling class of the enemy country, and thus the protests against the war took a nationalist turn. On the 31st, Jaurès was assassinated by a nationalist named Villain at the Café du Croissant in Paris, and the socialists' efforts to keep the peace died with him.

On 31st July, the Kaiser issued an ultimatum to France and Russia. Viviani ordered the French army to take up a position 10 km from the border. Poincaré wrote to King George V requesting the support of Great Britain. The month of July came to an end, and on 1st August the rallying cry was sounded and the order to mobilise the soldiers was issued. France and the French people entered the Great War.